


Curiosity Killed the Cat

by rasengan



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pet Store, Lots of Cats, M/M, Mild Language, NSFW later on, Rating will change, probably a lot more tags later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-02-05 19:36:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1829764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rasengan/pseuds/rasengan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hanamiya Makoto is not a cat person.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Scaredy-Cat

Hanamiya Makoto is not a cat person and that is precisely the reason why he's walking into his local pet store, Paws 'n' Claws. Today, he's buying himself a fucking cat. This is absolutely not his idea, and was in fact highly protested on his part. Unfortunately, his therapist believes that a lasting bond is important for him, and because he has little to no friends, nor any interest in making friends, it was recommended that he find himself a pet. Dogs were immediately out of the question. Hanamiya wouldn't stand for incessant barking in the middle of the night or - he shudders at the thought - picking up their shit with only a thin plastic bag. His therapist shot down the idea of a gold fish, and then the idea of a cat was presented to him.

It took Hanamiya's therapist three months and fourteen therapy sessions to convince him that a cat was the right call. What finally sold him was the apathetic look on a cat's face one day as he walked to the gym. The dusty-grey cat's fur was matted and it looked thoroughly disgusting, but Hanamiya found something endearing about how truly uninterested cats seemed. Of course, when his therapist asks him why he had changed his mind, he replies with something along the lines of, "As long as it gets you to shut up." Very mature.

-

It's a Thursday when he walks to the pet store. He first fills his cart with the necessities he's already researched - a litter box, cat food, a water bowl, and some awfully frilly toys he's embarrassed to even pick up. He's circled the small room with windowed walls that holds the cats at least three times after that, his eyes anxiously roaming from playing cat to sleeping cat. He's admittedly afraid of entering the room and really committing to this whole cat thing. On his fourth lap, his cart bumps into something solid and he curses under his breath, glaring up to inspect who or what he's run into. Who. A very tall, very muscular who. Hanamiya's immediate reaction is to snort, because this tall brunet looks absolutely ridiculous in the Paws 'n' Claws apron, the required uniform. Kiyoshi, he reads on the man's name tag. It's scribbled in shitty chicken scratch handwriting.

"May I help you?" Kiyoshi says in a voice that ties together his whole burly appearance. What's this guy, like twenty feet tall? He's basically the walking definition of masculinity and Hanamiya hates it.

"Yeah, you can get the fuck out of my way."

Hanamiya swears he sees the corners of this bastards lips turn upward. "My apologies. I see you're shopping for a cat. You wouldn't happen to be adopting one today, would you?"

"What's it to you, creep?"

"I'm head of the feline department. I could take you in to look at the cats, if you'd like."

It's then that Hanamiya starts to rethink his decision to buy a cat for what has to be the millionth time. He's not buying from this over friendly oaf, he thinks. But... he's got a fucking cart full of cat supplies and a pamphlet he picked up on the way in that's entitled 'How to Properly Care for a Cat.' Of fucking course he's buying a cat, and running away now would just make him look like a fool.

"That'd be appreciated," he finally replies. As curt as ever. Kiyoshi's still smiling, and it's not one of those forced smiles employees usually have on when they deal with rude costumers. This guy is genuinely fucking happy.

-

Several minutes later, Hanamiya is being bombarded with cats. They're all around him - rubbing against his legs, purring, fucking licking him whenever he tries to pet one. Where the fuck were the apathetic cats, glaring at him from their sleeping baskets? "They're all so fucking friendly," he mutters.

Kiyoshi laughs, booming and heart-filled like he's just told the funniest joke on Earth. "You say that like it's a bad thing. They're left alone all day and crated at night. They just want attention." He smiles, but there's something in his eyes. He kneels down, petting a brown tabby. Then it hits Hanamiya - this guy legitimately feels pity for all these cats. What a fucking softy. Disgusting.

"Do you have a cat of your own?" Hanamiya asks before he can stop himself. He doesn't know what he's doing. He doesn't talk to people unless it benefits him in some way, and hearing about a grown man's fondness for cats definitely isn't going to aid him in any way.

"I do. I've got a black cat named Kuroko. You share quite a resemblance to him, in fact."

"Oh?" Hanamiya cocks an eyebrow. His interest is piqued. This guy is comparing him to a fucking cat, and though he should feel offended, he's slightly amused. "How's that?"

"Aside from the obvious similarities in hair color, you've both got quite a mouth."

"Excuse me?" Hanamiya sneers.

Kiyoshi holds out his arm, revealing angry red lines and scabbed over bite marks. "He's a great cat, but the second he's done with you petting him, he's quite adamant about you leaving him alone." He smiles and laughs like he finds the marks endearing. Hanamiya doesn't know why, but he feels the smallest hint of a smile curve his lips.

-

It takes another ten minutes for Kiyoshi to convince Hanamiya to sit down beside him. Kiyoshi says, "You can't even pet them properly from up there," as two cats settle in his lap. There are numerous others circling him like a sharks, trilling and nuzzling against anything and everything. Hanamiya sits, glares, and then finally reaches out to pet a few of the cats. He doesn't even have to do anything - the moment he sticks his hand out, they're under it, their heads weaving back and forth as they knead at the tile below them.

One kitten in particular has made it her goal to get Hanamiya's attention. She climbs into his lap and pounces at his chest until her body is stretched much longer than Hanamiya thought possible. She's got her hind legs on his thigh, but her front paws on his chest and she's leaning up to rub her face against Hanamiya's chin. He winces at how wet her nose is and mutters, "Fucking gross." Kiyoshi laughs in the background, but he's lying on the floor now, practically buried in cats.

Hanamiya decides he'll need a shower when he gets home, so he picks up the kitten to prevent any further kitten nose slime from getting onto his face. As it turns out, she's soft as fuck. He can appreciate that, even if she is annoying. The next fifteen minutes are spent petting her until she finally falls asleep and Hanamiya can actually find her tolerable. He doesn't notice, but Kiyoshi watches him bond with the kitten.

"I'd like to buy this one," he murmurs, turning slightly towards Kiyoshi. He notices that she's got the same fur color as Kiyoshi's hair, and although that's a deterring factor, Hanamiya decides that she's going to be the one.

-

It's at check out that things really hit Hanamiya. He's carrying a crate with a kitten in it, scared shitless and howling to the point where even he feels sorry for her. He's already been congratulated by several random strangers in the store, and Kiyoshi is constantly reminding him that he's not buying this cat, he's adopting her. But, really, is there a difference?

His nails tap against the counter impatiently as Kiyoshi looks over the last of all the adoption papers. They're handed back to him with that annoying grin and a, "Congratulations, Hanamiya."

Kiyoshi discovered his name on one of the papers and hasn't stopped saying it since. Hanamiya thinks it's one of those things employees are always told to do to make themselves more approachable, but it really just annoys him.

"Remember, if you've got any question or need any help, you can call that number at the top of the form or just come back here. We've got a walk-in clinic that provides discounts to all customers who've adopted from us. Your cat is fixed and has all her shots; you don't need to come in for those. So," Kiyoshi leans forward, propping his elbow on the counter and resting his head in his palm, "What will you name her?"

"Name her?" Hanamiya blinks and Kiyoshi laughs.

"Yeah, you do plan on naming her, right?"

"Well, honestly, no. I haven't thought about naming her." Hanamiya is still a little dumbfounded. How had a name never even occurred to him?

Kiyoshi laughs again and Hanamiya mistakes that for being made fun of. He stares sharply at the employee for several seconds, plotting his death.

"Relax, plenty of people struggle with naming their pets. You think about it and come back some day to tell me, okay?" And, believe it or not, this guy actually has the audacity to wink at him.

Hanamiya leaves the pet store feeling as he does after most long outings - tired, slightly irritated, and ready to go home. But, home doesn't promise the same serenity that it does on most occasions. No, because the mewling cat beside him is a constant reminder that he's invited change into his life and he's going to have to litter train it.


	2. Raining Cats and Dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's more to Kiyoshi Teppei than meets the eye.

Hanamiya Makoto was vastly unaware of just how much one kitten could shit. He's disgusted. His living room smells like shit and all the other room in his apartment faintly smell of shit masked with stale coffee and an entire can of Febreze. There's litter everywhere - even in his fucking bed sheets. He thinks the worst part in all of this is that he can't make any snide, passive-aggressive comments, because he's dealing with a fucking ball of fluff that won't understand him. He settles for a look of disdain and tells his therapist he hates the cat. He's lying. He thinks the cat is disgusting, but sometimes there's something endearing in that. He doesn't frown when she crawls onto his lap as he's reading, when she wakes him up three in the fucking morning by somehow managing to jump onto his bed despite the fact that she's roughly the size of a shoe and his bed is a good three feet above the ground, when she follows him around the house for reasons he's vastly unaware of.

He's gone to the pet store on four separate occasions since buying his kitten three weeks ago. Each time, without fail, Kiyoshi is there to offer his assistance. As annoying as the thick-browed asshole is, Hanamiya finds relief in the fact that he's able to talk down to someone who will actually understand him. Kiyoshi is now one of the few people Hanamiya talks to regularly - though he'd really rather it not be that way. 

Kiyoshi regularly poses the same question: whether or not he's named his kitten. He hasn't. He tells Kiyoshi that he's named every single one of her shits after him, though. Kiyoshi laughs and says, "How thoughtful of you." 

Kiyoshi learns quickly that there's nothing that gets to Hanamiya more than a smile and a laugh. Hanamiya practically thrives on insulting people, but Kiyoshi likes watching the way he crinkles his nose and loses his composure for a split second when he doesn't get the reaction he wants. He thinks it might actually be possible to kill Hanamiya with kindness. It's practically his Kryptonite. 

-

It's a Sunday and Hanamiya is at the pet store for the fifth time in three and a half weeks to buy more cat litter for his literally shitty cat. The clouds look a stormy grey when Hanamiya enters the store, but he's confident that he can buy what he needs and make it home before the downpour. It's the rainy season and he learned within the first few days that his kitten is petrified of thunder. Just his luck, he's bought the shitty, wimp cat. The runt of the litter. She'd surely be a failure to thrive on her own.

But, Hanamiya isn't a _completely_ apathetic monster. He feels for his kitten. He wants to be home before she slinks to the ground and starts to pant like she's having a panic attack. He's not quite sure what he's supposed to do to fix her, but he at least wants to keep her company.

-

"Ah, back again? We're closing soon, y'know, so we're going to have to put our flirting on hold for today." Kiyoshi's unnecessarily loud voice is even louder than usual, echoing. Hanamiya takes a moment to look around and notices that he's the only costumer in the store. Actually, he's the only _person_ in the store besides Kiyoshi. 

Hanamiya snorts, deciding not to dignify Kiyoshi with a proper response. He wanders off to the aisle of various cat litters, but Kiyoshi is at his tail.

"Need any help, Hanamiya?"

"I may not be head of the _kitty department_ in some pet store, but I know how to buy cat litter." It's condescending the way Hanamiya addresses Kiyoshi's job title, but there's not even a hint of anger in Kiyoshi's eyes. He's as invincible to Hanamiya's jabs as always. If anything, that means that Hanamiya's remark only aggravates himself.

Kiyoshi blabbers on about some sale, so Hanamiya ends up buying two boxes of cat litter instead of one. They're at the checkout counter when it starts to pour down rain. It seems the clouds decided to skip the warning drizzles that usually come before a storm. Instead, they go straight to what Hanamiya refers to as, "A fucking typhoon."

Kiyoshi nods his head, his eyes trained out the nearest window. "Yeah, It's raining cats and dogs out there." He turns towards Hanamiya with a grin that makes it apparent he's been waiting his whole life to tell that joke. Hanamiya contemplates hitting Kiyoshi, but settles for snatching his receipt from Kiyoshi's grip and rolling his eyes. "Do you only speak in cat puns?"

Kiyoshi's midway through thinking up a clever cat pun to respond with when lighting strikes the parking lot, illuminating the store better than any florescent light ever could. Not a second later, thunder follows, threatening to shatter all the glass doors and windows. Even Hanamiya shudders.

"You're not going to walk home in this, are you?" Kiyoshi asks. He looks genuinely concerned too, and Hanamiya isn't sure why, but that irritates him more than any other idiotic thing Kiyoshi's ever said or done.

"Of course not." Hanamiya rolls his eyes for what must be the millionth time in front of Kiyoshi. And then he's silent. He stiffens at the sudden realization that whether or not he escapes the rain is completely dependent on Kiyoshi. He knows it's ridiculous, but Kiyoshi could kick him out of the store at any given moment. Honestly, what was stopping him from doing so? Hanamiya had been nothing but rude and spiteful to Kiyoshi since the very second they met, and it certainly was a good means of getting revenge. Maybe it wasn't so ridiculous after all, maybe-

"My manager will kill me if I leave the lights on past closing, so what'd ya say we go next door. There's a quiet little bookstore that closes late."

Hanamiya blinks. It takes him three times his normal response speed to nod his head.

-

As it turns out, 'next door' means a three second walk in the rain. Both men stand under the Paws 'n' Claws awning for as long as possible until an argument starts up about who is being more of a chicken. Hanamiya's the first to step beyond the awning and Kiyoshi is beside him in a heartbeat. He's got his jacket over both of their heads as they fast-walk to the neighboring store.

They find seats at a two-person table in the small coffee shop that's built into the bookstore. There's a TV broadcasting the weather report and a few other soaking guest who have come to find refuge from the rain. Apparently, the storm is promising to last at least another forty-five minutes.

After they lose interest in shouting weather corespondents and mapped views of the storm, it becomes apparent that an uncomfortable sort of silence has settled between them. This is the first time there's no cat supplies surrounding them and apparently all they ever talk about is cat litter brands and how Kiyoshi is destined to become an old man living with ten cats.

The spend the next thirty minutes having awkward pseudo-conversations until Kiyoshi lucks out and finds a topic they both find interesting - books. They're both avid fans of reading, as it turns out, and Hanamiya doesn't mind chatting on the subject (and scoffing over the fact that Kiyoshi is apparently a fan of romance novels). If Kiyoshi wasn't so physically appealing (and Hanamiya only admits that he is on the most begrudging level), Hanamiya would certainly write the store clerk off as a cat-loving, hopeless romantic, destined to be a virgin for life. Unfortunately, the taller man did have his looks going for him - the whole 'warm smile and taut muscle' look was undeniably pleasing to the eye - though Hanamiya would clearly never admit such a mortifying thought aloud.

-

The storm dies off earlier than expected and, though the streets are still flooded with puddles of water, everyone returns to their day as if nothing happened. Everyone except for Hanamiya, who, after a walk back to the pet store with Kiyoshi, realizes he has to carry two twenty-pound cat litter containers for a two and a half mile walk home. 

As if reading his mind, Kiyoshi offers to walk home with him and carry one of his containers. He says, "That's what friends are for," like they are in some preteen chick flick. It makes Hanamiya cringe, but he accepts the offer because it means he doesn't have to carry forty pounds of shitting litter all by himself. He makes it clear to Kiyoshi as well that he is simply using the brunette for his brawn, and that they are not, in _any_ way, friends.

-

The walk is tolerable, Hanamiya determines. Both men don't mind silence between small talk, especially when they are lugging full boxes of cat litter and getting side-swept with water each time a car passes them on the still-slick roads. Deep down, the both of them are men of few words, and Hanamiya has to concede that he finds that to be Kiyoshi's first genuinely enjoyable quality, and an unexpected one, too.

Still, the moment Hanamiya makes it to his apartment building he is shooing Kiyoshi without any thanks or show of appreciation. He's unapologetically terse, yet Kiyoshi still wears his signature, pearly-white grin as he waves goodbye to him.

-

It certainly isn't an ideal afternoon by any means, but not too terrible either. And, for Hanamiya, it's not often that he has not-terrible days.  
For reasons that are beyond him, Hanamiya relays the day to his therapist at his next appointment, and she smiles and tells him that he has made a friend. Hanamiya, of course, stares at her as though she's the one who needs professional help. He contemplates leaving the session then and there.

Somehow, though completely unsought, Hanamiya has made a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhh haha so this is still being continued kind of i guess idk (unless i run out of cat puns for these titles lmao)
> 
> my sincere apologies to anyone (if there are any) who liked this and looked forward to it being continued in a timely manner. i'm a role player who just occasionally gets the motivation to write solo things. i swear i'm much better at rping than i am at writing fics lol
> 
> also i have like no clue where i'm going with this anymore so it's all dependent on when inspiration strikes - all i know rn is that i want them to get together (duh) and i want to explore more of hanamiya's emotional issues/why he sees a therapist. if you have any ideas/suggestions i'm all ears

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is my first fic, so any feedback is greatly appreciated. I do plan on continuing this work and developing Teppei and Makoto's relationship (and adding some smut/angst). 
> 
> Side note: Despite the title, I can assure you that no cats will die in this work.


End file.
